Rotary cutting device



June 10, 1969 G. CARDINET ET AL 3,448,684

ROTARY CUTTING DEVICE Filed March 17, 1967 I N VEN TORS afiarneys GuyCardr'nef BY Edmond L..Z Feud f 6&0 g dam M 4'11 United States PatentInt. Cl. B30b 3/04; B23d 25/12; F16c 35/00 US. Cl. 100--171 8 ClaimsABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Cutting or creasing device employingcooperating rolls journaled in boxes that are yieldingly urged togetherbut separated by wedge means positively determining the operativerelation of the rolls.

This invention comprises a new and improved device employing cooperatingrolls for cutting, creasing or otherwise treating thin sheet material.

In numerous industrial processes it is desired to pass the product to betreated between a pair of rolls rotating in synchronism around parallelaxes, the distance between which determines the distance between theoperative surfaces of the rolls.

Among other applications, mention may be made of the rolling of verythin sheets, such as sheets of gold, truing, calibrating, printing,goifering and precise cutting or creasing of sheets of cardboard orplastic, as well as thin sheets of fibers.

Precision of the roll spacing is essential for the proper carrying outof these operations. In cutting operations for which one of the rolls isprovided with transverse or peripheral cutters, the precision of thespacing between the two rolls is diflicult to maintain since thereaction forces are discontinuous. On the other hand precision is hereall the more important since, for instance in the manufacture ofcartons, it is frequently necessary to determine the penetration of theknife into the thickness of a sheet of cardboard in such a manner as notonly to the cutting of it but also to impart to it creasing or foldinglines.

With the precision now available in the production of the bearings ofthe two rolls, it is impossible to maintain a distance apart of theprecise value desired, that is to say, at a precision of one hundredthof a millimeter or of a micron which is frequently necessary, if onlybecause of the heating of the bearings during operation. Thecenter-to-center lost motion of the rolls must then be added onto orsubtracted from the theoretical value desired.

An object of the present invention is to provide a device which willsolve this problem. To that end the shaft of each of the rolls of thepair is supported at both of its ends by two journal boxesthe firstdetermining precisely by means of a wedge interposed between it and thecorresponding journal box of the other roll, the minimum spacing betweenaxes of the two shafts; the second journal box being subjected to ayielding force which tends constantly to press the first journal boxagainst the wedge.

These and other features of the invention will be best understood .andappreciated from the following description of a preferred embodimentthereof selected for purposes of illustration and shown in theaccompanying drawing in which FIG. 1 is a view in elevation partly insection,

FIG. 2 is an end view, and

FIG. 3 is a diagrammatic view on a larger scale show- Patented June 10,1969 ing the position of the roll shafts in their journal boxes.

The frame of the illustrated device includes a base 10 having uprightarms or posts 11 in each of which are formed parallel guideways forjournal boxes 12, 13, 14, 15. These are arranged in pairs and supportupper and lower roll shafts 16 and 17. As herein shown the upper shaft16 carries a cutter roll 18 having replaceable longitudinal knives 19.The lower 1011 20 is a smooth anvil roll which serves to present sheetmaterial 30 for cutting or creasing in cooperation with the cutter roll18. The shaft 17 is provided with a driving pinion 24 and withconnections to a gear 25 on the shaft 16.

The roll 20 and its shaft 17 are supported at both ends by primaryjournal boxes 15 which rest upon solid abutments such as blocks orwedges 22. These positively determine the position of the axis of theroll 20 since any play or lost motion in the bearings is brought to theupper side of the shaft 17 by downward pressure of the journal boxes 15-as indicated in FIG. 3.

The lower roll shaft 17 also has at both ends secondary journal boxes 14mounted in the guideways of the arms 11 at one side and independently ofthe adjacent journal boxes 15. Similarly the cutter roll shaft 16 has atboth ends primary journal boxes 12. These are engaged by compressionsprings 21 contained in the upper part of the arms 11 and tending alwaysto urge the journal boxes 12 downwardly with the shaft 16.

The shaft 16 is also provided with secondary journal boxes 13 and theseare adjustably related to the journal boxes 14 of the shaft 17 throughwedges 23 interposed between them.

The roll 20 is mounted for rotation about a fixed predetermined axisthrough its journal boxes 15 and the supporting blocks 22. The springs21, acting through the journal boxes 12, 13, and 14, maintain the shaft17 always in contact with its lower side of the bearing. By varying thethickness of the blocks 22 the whole assembly of journal boxes and rollsmay be bodily adjusted as to their height in the frame of the device. Itwill be apparent that in all adjusted positions of rolls the amount oftheir separation is positively determined by the wedges 23 with a highdegree of precision. The secondary set of journal boxes 13, 14, thusdetermines exactly the minimum spacing of the roll-s, and the other set12, 15 is subjected to spring force tending always to maintain con tactwith the Wedges.

Pressure of the springs 21 is transmitted downwardly through the boxes12 to the shaft 16 and thus to the secondary boxes 13 so that continuousgauging pressure is maintained upon the wedges 23 in their positionbetween the two secondary journal boxes 13 and 14. Similarly downwardpressure of the springs 21 is further transmitted to the journal boxes15 thus maintaining their continuous engagement with the blocks orwedges 22 upon the base 10.

Having thus disclosed our invention and described in detail anillustrative embodiment thereof, we claim as new and desire to secure byLetters Patent:

1. A rotary device having a frame and a pair of shafts carryingcooperating rolls for treating sheet material, wherein the improvementcomprises two journal boxes in the frame at both ends of each shaft,adjustable wedge means at each end separating one pair of journal boxesof said shafts to positively determine the operative relative spacing ofthe two rolls, and resilient means adjustably mounting one of the otherpair of journal boxes in said frame.

2. A rotary device as defined in claim 1 further characterized in thatsaid adjustable mounting means comprise spring means acting directly onone journal box of the other pair at both ends of one of the shafts tomaintain wedge-controlled operative spacing of the cooperating rolls.

3. A rotary device as defined in claim 1, further charac terized in thattwo journal boxes are mounted side by side at each end of both shafts.

4. A rotary device as defined in claim 1, further characterized in thatat each end a spring acts at all times on one journal box of the otherpair to press one of the journal boxes of the first pair constantlyagainst the wedge.

5. An adjustable bearing arrangement including a pair of spaced rollershafts, a primary journal box and a secondary journal box mounted atboth ends of both shafts, a rigid abutment engaging each of said primaryjournal boxes of one roller shaft, means adjustably spacing the pair ofsecondary journal boxes at each end of said shafts and resilient meansapplying a yielding force on the primary journal boxes of the othershaft in a direction to bias said secondary journal boxes toward eachother.

6. Adjustable bearing arrangement as defined in claim 5 furthercharacterized in that the roller shafts are vertically spaced wherebythe rigid abutments support the primary journal boxes of said one rollershaft, and the resilient means act on the primary journal boxes of theother shaft in a downward direction.

7. Adjustable bearing arrangement as defined in claim 6 characterized inthat said resilient means are springs.

8. Adjustable bearing arrangement as defined in claim 5 characterized inthat the adjustable spacing means are wedges.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 679,413 7/1901 Bunker 30858 X957,921 5/1910 Whitehead. 1,162,125 11/1915 Bassett 308-26 1,365,5211/1921 McNeil 1O0168 X 2,652,292 9/1953 Sabee 30858 2,773,400 12/1956Sulger 30826 X 2,825,217 3/1958 Byrd. 3,140,900 7/1964 Martin. 3,326,4396/1967 Sarka 226-194 FOREIGN PATENTS 747,347 4/1956 Great Britain.

MARTIN P. SCHWADRON, Primary Examiner.

L. L. JOHNSON, Assistant Examiner.

US. Cl. X.R.

